Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero
Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks." Under his
leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political
reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party
politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party
and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties
have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability
and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case
eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997,
the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a
"post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey
intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the
island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy, enabling it to begin accession membership talks with the European Union.
Location of Turkey
Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of
Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe),
bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and
bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between
Greece and Syria
Area of Turkey
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km
Boundaries of Turkey
total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240
km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km,
Syria 822 km
Coastline of Turkey
8333 Km.
Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides:
By the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean in the south
and the Aegean Sea in the west.
In the northwest there is also an important internal sea, the
Sea of Marmara, between the straits of the Dardanelles and the
Bosporus
Regions of Turkey
Turkey has 80 administrative provinces and seven geographical
regions. The first four of the seven regions are given the names
of the seas which are adjacent to them.
- Black Sea Region
- Marmara Region
- Aegean Region
- Mediterranean Region
The other three regions are named in accordance with their
location in the whole of Anatolia.
- Central Anatolia Region
- Eastern Anatolia Region
- South-Eastern Anatolia Region
Climate of Turkey
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in
interior
Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean coasts: These coasts have a
typical Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters.
The swimming season becomes shorter as one goes to the further
north: Marmara and North Aegean - June to September; South
Aegean and Mediterranean - April to October.
Black Sea Coast: Warm summers, mild winters, and relatively high
rainfall.
Central Anatolia: Steppe climate with hot, dry summers; cold
winters.
Eastern Anatolia: Long snowy cold winters with mild summers.
Southeast Anatolia: Hot summer with mild, rainy winters.
Turkish Terrain
high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several
mountain ranges
levation of Turkey
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Land use in Turkey
arable land: 29.81%
permanent crops: 3.39%
other: 66.8% (2005)
Irrigated land in Turkey
42,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards in
Turkey
severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc
extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
Environment issues
of Turkey
water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air
pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern
for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic
Srategicly located controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus,
Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas;
Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in
the far eastern portion of the country.
